KCOM welcomes Driffield to the broadband fast lane

Beverley Fielding is the first person in Driffield to upgrade to KCOM’s award-winning Lightstream broadband after the company announced it was investing £100m expanding its full fibre network across East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

The milestone was marked by KCOM managing director Sean Royce who presented Mr Fielding with a hamper packed with locally sourced goodies.

Mr Fielding, of the Greenways, Driffield, said he was now looking forward to some buffering-free box set watching - and fewer arguments when the rest of the family were online.

He said : “We coped before but it was a bit laggy and it could be frustrating at times. You could definitely tell it slowed down when there was more than one person using the internet.

“Now we’ve got fibre it’s going to make a big difference – hopefully there will be no more arguments about who’s online. We’ll now be able to get the whole family doing their own thing on the internet without it slowing down or grinding to a halt.”

For son Nathan, 20, who is studying at East Riding College for a University of Hull computer science degree, the new ultrafast speeds will make gaming on his PC easier as well as helping him with his studies.

He said: “Before, if I was downloading a film or some music you could definitely tell as it would slow everything else down. I’d usually get a text off my sister telling me to stop because she couldn’t use social media or watch Netflix.

“But this will make a big difference. I have to download or upload assignments for my studies - which are big files, and it could be painful waiting for it to finish sometimes.

“But now it should be much quicker and it won’t interfere with what everybody is doing.”

By upgrading from ADSL broadband carried on old copper wires to full fibre Lightstream, which is capable of gigafast speeds, the Fielding family saw their download speed instantly leap from around 16Mbps to above 400Mbps – enabling more seamless downloading, streaming, surfing and gaming.

This new connection is the latest step in KCOM’s rollout of full fibre broadband beyond its traditional heartland of Hull and East Yorkshire.

Driffield, Nafferton and Market Weighton are in the first phase of the rollout which will make ultrafast broadband accessible to around 10,000 properties, with more locations across East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire set to be announced throughout 2020.

Sean Royce said: “It’s great to be bringing our award-winning Lightstream to even more parts of our community.

“The benefits of full fibre broadband are huge – not just for our businesses and the local economy but for how we live our lives and use the internet at home.

“We’ve already proved in Hull that there’s a big need and demand for ultrafast broadband – and all the advantages it can deliver. We’re delighted that more people across our region will now be able to experience that for themselves too.

“We’ve had a huge amount of interest since we announced we’re expanding to Driffield, Market Weighton and Nafferton and we’d like to thank Beverley and his family for being the first of many new members we’re welcoming to the KCOM Lightstream family.”

To find out more and order your Lightstream full fibre broadband click here